L&L Holding announced that it is seeking to create New York City’s first WELL Core & Shell Compliant office tower at 425 Park Avenue.

The company has officially registered its 425 Park Avenue development to pursue WELL Core & Shell Compliance by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) through its WELL Building Standard®, which is the first building standard to focus on enhancing people’s health and well-being through the built environment.

The WELL Building Standard is the culmination of seven years of research in collaboration with leading physicians, scientists and industry professionals.

Its intent is to marry best practices in design and construction with evidence-based health and wellness interventions to help create built environments with improved air, water, and light qualities to positively impact the nutrition, fitness, comfort, and mood of its occupants.

“Everything we are doing at 425 Park Avenue – from its design by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster to its technological innovations, amenities and L.E.E.D. sustainability measures – is a testament to our determination to create a truly 21st Century building of the highest caliber,” said L&L Holding chairman and CEO David Levinson.

“Achieving the objectives set forth by the WELL Building Standard is an important piece of the puzzle as it speaks to our commitment to creating the healthiest and most productive work environment we possibly can.”

L&L Holding has committed to undertaking a number of initiatives at 425 Park Avenue, each designed to improve the quality of life, health, performance and engagement for future occupants of what will be the prototype for 21st Century buildings.

The list ranges from measures to achieve 95 percent air filtration, advanced water purification and increased daylight to the incorporation of such occupant amenities as a dedicated wellness center on the Tenant “Club” Floor, public art and landscaped terraces. L&L Holding also will create educational materials designed to promote employee health and wellness within the companies that lease space in the tower.

“IWBI’s mission is to bring human health to the forefront of building practices globally, and we are thrilled that L&L Holding has committed to pursue WELL Certification for 425 Park Avenue in an effort improve the health and well-being of their future tenants,” said Paul Scialla, founder of IWBI.

“In addition to being an enlightened approach to new development, L&L Holding’s inclusion of quantifiable wellness measures into 425 Park Avenue makes great business sense,” said CBRE New York Tri-State Region CEO Mary Ann Tighe.

“Today’s leading financial and creative companies recognize the nexus between employee satisfaction and productivity and are increasingly demanding that the physical spaces they inhabit incorporate these values.”

The 893-foot, 47-story tower, located between East 55th and 56th Streets, will include 670,000 s/f of office space.

The Norman Foster-designed tower also will incorporate a 45-foot tall grand lobby, two 38-foot tall terraced floors, one of which will serve as a first-class amenity floor for the tower’s inhabitants, and a 38-foot tall penthouse floor with unparalleled, 360 degree views of Manhattan and beyond.

L&L Holding will begin demolition of the current 425 Park Avenue building on May 1 of this year. Completion and opening of the new 425 Park Avenue is scheduled for 2018.

Once the building is complete, IWBI representatives will conduct a series of tests and inspections to ensure it meets the standards for WELL Core & Shell Compliance.